You Needed Me
by Doctor Addison Montgomery
Summary: COMPLETE: When a rape victim comes into Sun Hill the last thing Zain Nadir expected was to fall in love with her. Story also includes Smithy, Sam, Phil and Stuart as well as others. Please review!
1. The Hardest Part

**You Needed Me  
****Chapter - The Hardest Part**

**Summary:** When a rape victim comes into Sun Hill the last thing Zain Nadir expected was to fall in love with her. Also includes Smithy, Sam, Phil and Stuart as well as others. Please review, I need to know whether you think it's worth continuing with! There will be some SamPhil next chapter as Stuart is leaving and Suzie now has the position of DS. Take care, luv Vikki x.

* * *

Sergeant Dale Smith was taking his turn to man the main reception desk at Sun Hill Police Station, it wasn't anywhere near his favourite part of his job but on a rainy Monday morning it was better than be stuck outside on the beat. It had been quiet so far, there had been fewer drunks than usual but Smithy supposed the weather must be keeping them in. He was thinking about going to make a cup of coffee for himself when a woman walked in through the doors of Sun Hill Police Station. She was quite tall with reddish brown hair and eyes a shade brighter green than Smithy's own.

"Can I help you?" He asked as she approached the desk, as she came closer Smithy could see that she had been crying. Her eyes looked red and puffy, he could see the trace of mascara on her pale cheeks and she didn't look as though she had slept at all the previous night.

"Hello, is there someone I can talk to?" She asked, her voice low and with a hint of tremble.

Smithy nodded. "Can I take your name please?" He asked.

"Sarah, Sarah Adams." She replied.

"Okay Sarah. Can you tell me what you're here for?"

She took a deep breath but it didn't help to calm her frayed nerves.

"I want to report a rape."

Smithy nodded, looking at her kindly. Sarah avoided his gaze and looked at the linoleum floor. He waited for her to say something more before gently persuading her to continue.

"Yes?" He asked, knowing it seemed inadequate. Smithy found himself hoping against hope that she was not here to report her own rape but he knew that it was foolish to feel like that.

"Mine. I was raped last night." Sarah struggled with her tears as she said this; it was making it too real all over again even though she'd been constantly running and re running the past twenty-four hours through her mind ever since it had happened. She just wished that she could turn back time and change the events leading up to when she was raped but she knew that was impossible. Sarah was left to face the facts alone and it had taken her endless hours of insomnia to finally decide to report what had happened. Part of her still wanted to run out of the police station before she committed herself to deeply but she knew she could never live with herself if she let this man get away with what he had done and treat other women the same way.

"I'll call an officer to talk to you." Smithy told her; not knowing what he could do to help Sarah with her pain. Smithy offered her a coffee but she refused and went to take a seat in the waiting area.

* * *

A few moments laterDS Suzie SimandDC Zain Nadirwalked into the reception area. Straightaway they spotted Sarah and they nodded towards Smithy. Suzie approached Sarah first while Zain backed off a little to give her some space.

"Hi Sarah, my name is Suzie and this is my colleague Zain." She introduced herself. "Would you like to come through to another room?"

Sarah paused for a second, knowing that there was still a way out but she wasn't about to take it. So she nodded and chaperoned by Suzie and Zain she went through to one of the interview rooms.

"So Sarah," Suzie began sitting opposite her and leaning a little way across the table, Zain sat next to Suzie but leaned back to give Sarah as much space as possible. "Would you like to tell us what happened?" She asked gently.

Sarah took another deep breath and forced back her tears once more. She didn't know how much longer she could keep on wrestling with them though, especially if she had to repeat her story all over again and out loud this time.

"It's okay, take your time." Zain told her. She looked across at him and then back to where her hands were clasped in front of her.

When Sarah began to speak her voice trembled. And all she wanted to do was run but she knew that wouldn't help anyone, especially not herself.

"It was last night, one of my colleagues at work had been promoted and a group of us went to the Seven Bells for a drink to celebrate." That was the easy bit now came the hardest part. "Some of them had gone home to their families but a smaller group of us stayed later." Sarah took a shaky breath. "When we decided it was time to call it a night we all got cabs to go home. Mine was the last to arrive." She paused again, taking a sip from the glass of water on the tabletop. "While I waited a man came up to me and asked if I had any change for a ten pound note, I told him that I didn't and the only change I had was for the taxi."

She stopped again for a longer pause; she was dreading what she had to say next. Suzie and Zain let her take a pause.

"If you want to stop at any time..." Suzie began but Sarah shook her head.

"It's okay." Taking a final sip of water she continued. "It started to rain just after that and I went to stand under the shelter outside the pub where I can still see if the taxi was coming but I wouldn't get wet. And then...and then." She stopped, losing the battle against her tears. Zain passed her a box of tissues that had been in the room when they arrived. Sarah took one of wiped her eyes, she was angry with herself for losing control but what she was feeling was understandable after what she had been through. "And then the man came up behind me and I didn't notice he was there until it was too late. I hadn't had that much too drink either but then suddenly I thought I could feel someone watching me and I turned round and saw him there." Sarah's tears were coming thick and fast now and Zain was finding it hard to keep up the demand for tissues as she told her story. "He caught me off guard and then he somehow had me backed against the wall and I couldn't move so I tried to scream for help but he put his hand over my mouth."

"That's great so far Sarah, is there anything else you can tell me? Do you know this man's name or have you seen him before?"

Sarah shrugged. "He looked familiar but I don't know his name."

"That's okay. Do you think you would notice him in an ID parade?" Zain asked gently.

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I would."

Suzie offered Sarah a small smile. "What happened after he put his hand over your mouth?" She asked, when she saw the look on the victim's face she added. "Would you prefer it if DC Nadir went out of the room?"

Sarah nodded slowly and Zain got up and left quietly.

* * *

Zain Nadir walked down the corridor to the reception area. Things were still pretty quiet in the reception area so he was able to talk to Smithy without being overheard.

"How is she?" Smithy asked as Zain approached.

"She's doing okay." He replied. "Considering what she's been through."

Smithy nodded. "Doesn't seem right does it?"

Zain shook his head. "It never seems right. Suzie's doing a great job with her though."

"Between you and me she's doing a much better job than Stuart ever did." Smithy said. "He was hardly Mr. Sensitivity was he?"

Zain laughed. "I'd better get back in case they need me."

"Okay, see ya Zain."

"See ya."

* * *


	2. Pain Revisited

**You Needed Me  
****Chapter Two: Pain Revisted  
**

Thank you so much for all the reviews! Glad you're liking it! Sorry it took me longer to update than I thought but I've been away, the next part will be very soon! Some SP this chap!Please review, luv Vikki xx.

**

* * *

**"I bet you'll be pleased to see him go." Samantha Nixon commented to her fellow Detective Sergeant Phil Hunter as she passed his desk. She had noticed that he had been staring at Stuart Turner's almost empty desk for several minutes. 

"Huh?" Phil replied, knowing that he'd been caught out.

"I bet you'll be glad to see the back of Stuart." Sam repeated.

"Oh, um well..." Phil stuttered not wanting to hurt Sam with the truth.

"Don't lie to me Phil, I know you hated him so don't pretend you don't now." Sam told him, sitting down next to him.

"Um okay." Phil replied, still not quite sure what the right response was. "Are you two going to stay together?"

Sam shrugged. "I honestly don't know." She said with a small sigh. "The new job means he'll be on the otherside of London so it'll be difficult to have a proper relationship."

"Oh, I'm sorry Sam. I know you wanted to things to work out with him." Phil said.

"No, you're not." She replied.

Phil looked surprised and confused at the same time.

Sam smiled. "You're not sorry that things are ending between Stuart and I."

"Well no." Phil admitted. "But I'm sorry that it's upsetting you." He added.

Sam smiled again, she was glad that she and Phil were actually having normal conversations again.

* * *

Suzie and Sarah were now alone in the interview room and there was no putting off what had to come now. Suzie waited for Sarah to be ready to speak and couldn't feel anything but sorry for this young woman who had been through such a terrible ordeal. In her line of work Suzie came across people almost daily who had been raped or assaulted in some other way whether sexually or not. She wished there was something that she could do to help Sarah through this and out onto the otherside. 

"After he'd put his hand over my mouth, he forced me against the wall and held me there." Sarah said, she couldn't bear to look up into Suzie's eyes she didn't want to see the pity that was there. "It gets blurry after that but I remember waking up a while later and he was gone. I think he hit me over the head, I've had a headache since I got up this morning and I don't think it's from the alcohol. One of the barmaids helped me and called another taxi for me. When I got home I just took my clothes off and went to bed."

"Do you still have the clothes?" Suzie asked and Sarah nodded.

"I've watched enough CSI to know not to wash it or get rid of it." She managed a small smile at this.

"Well done Sarah, you've been really brave. I know this must be so hard for you but you've done really well." Suzie told her before getting up to let Zain back into the room. DC Nadir smiled reassuringly at Sarah as he took his seat beside Suzie again.

"Sarah's been very helpful Zain, I think we should send some uniform down to the Seven Bells to check out the CCTV. Sarah, can you remember the name of the barmaid who helped you?"

"Um...I think I heard someone call her Cat earlier in the evening but I could be wrong..." Sarah tailed off uncertainly

"Anything you can remember will help us, anything at all." Zain told her gently.

Sarah sighed. "It all happened so quickly that it's hard to be sure of anything."

"It's okay." Suzie said, her eyes meeting Sarah's in a moment of understanding. "Will you be okay to see the FME? Then we can go back to your house and get your clothes sent off to Forensics."

Sarah nodded, desperatley trying to control the shaking in her body. Zain's heart went out to her as he watched her sitting there alone and vulnerable. Suzie and Zain took her along to the FME and left her to be examined.

* * *

"Smithy, do you know which of the relief you can spare?" Suzie asked him at the reception desk. He pushed some books and files aside until he found what he was looking for. 

"I can spare you Dan and Honey." Smithy said. "Is this for the Sarah Adams case?" He added.

Zain and Suzie nodded.

"Well, good luck."

The two detectives found PCs Harman and Casper taking their refs breaks in the canteen.

"We need the two of you to go down to the Seven Bells to interview anyone who might have seen what happened to someone called Sarah Adams last night. Also if you could get hold of the CCTV tapes that would be very helpful."

Dan and Honey finished their food and drinks and went to get ready to go to the Pub to see if they good make any progress in finding Sarah's rapist. Zain and Suzie went upstairs to the CID offices to see if they could find anyone to go and interview the barmaid. DS Phil Hunter was more than happy to be taken away from his mounting pile of paperwork. He was also happy to be helping Suzie out now that she had taken over Stuart's position as Sergeant. The only other person who wasn't already working on a case was DS Samantha Nixon. She and Phil looked at each other uncertainly before getting down to the task at hand. Suzie and Zain went back downstairs to see if the FME had finished examining Sarah. Zain hung back in the corridor while Suzie knocked on the door. Several minutes later Suzie and Sarah came out of the room, Suzie was holding a manilla folder that contained the FME's findings.

"You can stay here if you want." Suzie offered Zain as they made their way to her car to take Sarah home and to pick up her clothes.

"Okay, I'll be upstairs so I can find out when we know something more." With a last look at Sarah he headed upstairs to his desk.

* * *

Suzie and Sarah drove back to Sarah's house in silence with the softly playing radio providing the only background noise. At the start of the journey Suzie had tried to make conversation but it was obvious to DS Sim that Sarah didn't want to talk and frankly she didn't blame her. 


	3. Moving Forward

**You Needed Me  
****Chapter 3: Moving Forward**

DS's Nixon and Hunter drove to the Seven Bells Pub in an awkward silence. Samantha stared out of the car window as the familiar sights passed by, she had thought that her friendship with Phil was finally getting back on track but now she wasn't quite so sure. Phil watched Sam as he drove along, keeping one eye on her and the other concentrated on the road ahead. He tried to work up the nerve to talk to her but he knew it shouldn't be this hard to have a conversation with someone he considered such a close friend. They arrived at the Pub without having said a word to each other although they both wanted to.

It was before eleven o'clock in the morning so the door of the Seven Bells was shut and locked. Clearly uniform hadn't arrived yet. Phil knocked loudly on the door and eventually it was opened by a tall man in his late forties, his head was shaven and he glared down at Sam and Phil.

"We're not open." He said and made a move to shut the door but Phil was quicker and stopped the door with his foot.

"DS Hunter, DS Nixon, Sun Hill CID." Phil introduced, holding up their warrant cards for him to see.

"Fine." The owner of the Pub sighed, standing back to let them in. Phil held the door open for Sam and let her go in first. She shot him a quick smile.

"We're here about a rape that happened last night." Sam began when they were all seated on bar stools.

The owner, Ben West, shrugged.

"Don't know anything about that."

"We think one of your barmaids may have some information." Phil told him.

"Why don't you ask her?" Ben replied.

"We're trying to." Phil retorted. "Do you have someone working for you called Cat?"

Ben thought out loud. "Cat...Cat...ah you must be looking for Catriona Ward."

Ben supplied them with her contact information from a thick, red hardback notebook from behind the counter.

Sam copied down the address into her notebook.

"Thank you for your time Mr West." She said as they left.

"Do you think he's hiding something?" Phil asked when they were back in the car.

"I don't know, let's see what Catriona has to say first."

* * *

Sarah directed Suzie to where she lived and fumbled in her bag for her keys.

"Take your time." Suzie soothed, seeing that Sarah was panicking and looked close to breaking down. From experience Suzie knew that the smallest things could push people over the edge after going through something as major as an assault or a rape. Suzie went to the boot of her car and pulled out an evidence bag from the boot. By the time she had done this Sarah had found the keys and was unlocking the front door.

Inside the flat Sarah pointed to the pile of clothes on the kitchen table. Suzie slipped on a pair of forensic gloves and put the clothes into an evidence bag. Sarah went over to the sink and began to fill the kettle up with water.

"Would you like a cup of tea Suzie?" She asked over the sound of the kettle boiling.

DS Sim looked at her watch; she could spare Sarah half an hour before she needed to take the clothes back to the station to be examined.

"Sure, I'd love one." Suzie replied, taking a seat on the mocha coloured sofa and crossing her legs. She looked around at the living room, it seemed tidy but it didn't look as though Sarah spent a great deal of time there. Suzie looked at the framed photographs on the mantelpiece. She saw a picture of Sarah with whom she guessed to be her parents, several of her smiling with her friends but there didn't seem to be any photos of her with a particular man and Suzie knew that she hadn't been wearing a wedding or engagement ring during the interview. Sarah's voice broke through her thoughts.

"Do you take milk and sugar?"

"Oh, milk and one sugar please."

Sarah brought in the two mugs of tea and handed one to Suzie who smiled gratefully. They sat in silence for a while but this time it was Sarah would broke through it.

"Thank you for coming back with me." She said quietly, concentrating on the mug of tea in her hands.

"It's not a problem Sarah; we want to help you."

Her eyes clouded over lightly but this time it was because she was touched by the kindness that both Suzie and Zain had shown her. Five minutes later Suzie put down her empty mug.

"I've got to get back to the station now but thank you for the tea." Suzie said, pulling a business card with her details on from her jacket pocket and handing it to Sarah. "Call me anytime you need to, okay?"

Sarah nodded, she saw Suzie off and went back inside and curled up on the sofa. She had tried so hard to be strong but now she was failing, she gave up and cried her heart out into a cushion feeling so alone.

* * *

"No answer." Phil commented after ringing the doorbell and banging on the door of the semi-detached two bedroom council house where barmaid Catriona Ward was supposed to live.

"Well-observed Phil." Sam replied dryly.

Phil ignored the comment and walked back up the path to where a dark blue VW Golf was parked.

"Do you think this could be her car?" Phil called to Sam who was peering into the downstairs windows. She turned around and shrugged, Phil got out his mobile and rang Zain's number.

"Hey Zain, its Phil. Can you run a vehicle check for me?" He rattled off the registration. A few later Zain was back.

"It's registered to a Catriona Ward." He paused. "I'm guessing that's our barmaid.

Phil thanked him and hung up, he walked over to where Sam was trying to look into the living room. She jumped when Phil came up behind her.

"The car does belong to Catriona." He told her and Sam followed him back round to the front door. Phil shouldered into it with his full weight.

"I'd forgotten how useful you could be." Sam joked.

"Gee, thanks Sam." Phil replied, taking a few steps into the house. Sam followed him; both of them had their warrant cards at the ready.

"Catriona? This is DS Nixon and DS Hunter from Sun Hill CID. You're not in trouble; we just need to ask you a few questions about a rape that took place at the Pub you work in last night." Sam called out from the bottom of the stairs and Phil checked the downstairs rooms. They then checked the upstairs rooms together and were close to giving up when someone burst out of the bathroom. Sam guessed this must be Catriona, she had long wavy blonde hair that reached her waist and to all of their surprise was wearing nothing but a white bath towel.

"Avert your eyes Phil, avert your eyes." Sam whispered in Phil's ear, he chuckled and went downstairs to wait while Sam explained to Catriona what was going on.

* * *

As soon as the Seven Bells was open for business PCs Harman and Casper were ready to talk to the regulars to see if they could tell them anything more about what had happened to Sarah Adams the previous night. It had been decided that it was safer for them to turn up in plain clothes as the customers were more likely to talk to them if they weren't in their police uniform, it made them look less threatening. People were less likely to open up to coppers. They showed Sarah's photograph but no one recognised her. Back in the unmarked car they had borrowed they called Suzie and Zain and they arranged to go back later on when more people might be there. They still had quite a lot to go on though. Catriona Ward was being brought in to be interview by Sam and Phil and the clothes Sarah had been wearing had been sent to forensics. Now all the needed were some answers.

* * *

**Thanks for reviewing! There wasn't much Zain this chapter but there will be next time as well as some Smithy! Please review and let me know what you think! Vikki xx**


	4. Be Strong

**You Needed Me  
****Chapter 4: Be Strong**

_And when you're in your darkest hour_

_And all of the light just fades away_

_And when you're like a little flower_

_Who's colour's have turned to shades of grey_

_Hold on, be strong._

_- Be Strong - Delta Goodrem_

* * *

The next morning Sarah Adams woke up to hear the telephone ringing. It had taken her hours to fall asleep the previous night and had finally got to sleep in the early hours of the morning. Although it was late now she had not slept well, waking up from nightmares in a cold sweat. Rubbing her eyes sleepily, Sarah went to answer the ringing phone just before the answering machine cut in.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Hi, this is DC Nadir from Sun Hill CID. Would it be possible for you to come down to the station so DS Sim and I can take your official statement?"

"Um, okay. What time?" Sarah replied.

"About 11?" Zain suggested.

Sarah looked across at the clock, it was half past ten already.

"Um..."

"How about one us come and pick you up?" Zain asked gently.

"Okay, thank you." Sarah replied but she was already dreading having to go over the events of the worst night of her life all over again. After her conversation with Zain had ended Sarah quickly went to the bathroom to shower. She felt more refreshed and awake after a quick shower and a mug of strong coffee and she was ready for Zain when he came to pick her up. She was quite surprised, Sarah had expected Suzie to be the one to take her to the police station. He gave her a reassuring smile as she got into the passenger seat of his turquoise Peugeot.

"How are you feeling today?" Zain asked Sarah once she had shut the car door and put her seatbelt on.

She attempted a weak smile. "Not so bad thank you." She replied, and she was actually beginning to feel a bit better but she knew that she wouldn't forget about what had happened for a long time to come.

"Good." Zain smiled. "I know it doesn't seem like it now but it will get better. You just have to be strong."

* * *

Once his shift on the reception desk had finished and Leela had taken over, Smithy went down to the Seven Bells himself. He went in his uniform and when he got there he saw that Honey and Dan were already talking to people. They were both dressed in plain clothes and they winked at their sergeant when they saw him enter the bar to let him know that they were getting on well enough.

Smithy went to the bar and showed his warrant card to the bartender who told him that he would go and find the manager. Sergeant Smith asked Ben West for the CCTV footage of the previous night and he was shown to a room that contained a TV and Video Combi and stacks upon stacks of video tapes both blank and used. The manager tried to help him but he was getting impatient and irritated after two visits from the police in one day.

It didn'ttake Dale very long to find the footage of the previous night and the tape that contained the time that Sarah was in the bar and the time she left to go home. He stacked the pile of relevant videos under his arm and took them back to the car, he just hoped that they would help to find Sarah's rapist. Smithy drove back to the station with the tapes on the passenger seat. Even though he usually hated trawling through CCTV footage he wanted to do it himself this time. He somehow felt connected to this case although he couldn't explain why it meant more to him than any of the other cases he was currently working on.

* * *

Zain escorted Sarah into the police station once they had parked up and lead her through to a similar interview room to the one that she had been in the previous day when she had first reported the assault.

"Would you like a drink of water?" Zain asked her after Sarah had taken a seat.

Sarah nodded. "Thanks."

Suzie was already in the room and was ready to take Sarah's statement. Zain came back in with the glass of water before leaving the room once more to listen to and read through the transcripts of Sam and Phil's interview with Catriona Ward.

* * *

The interview had gone well with Catriona and Sam and Phil had taken a witness statement from her although the statement itself didn't tell them very much. However they weren't convinced that Cat was telling them whole truth so they decided to do some digging into their background. Sam and Phil were sat at their computer terminals seeing what they could find out about her.

"I think I might have something." Sam said, turning from her computer screen to face Phil.

He got up from his own desk and leant over her shoulder to study the information on the screen. Sam had been looking Cat up on the computer to see if she had a criminal record and Phil had been checking her background at work and her phone records. Phil was so close to Sam now that he could smell her perfume and feel her hair tickling his cheek. He liked it now that Sam's hair had grown longer, he thought it suited her but he hadn't summonded the nerve to tell her yet. It had been difficult when Stuart was around to act like they always used when they were good friends and now they had to readjust again.

"Hello, is anyone in there?" Sam asked, waving her hand in front of Phil's face.

"Sorry." Phil pulled himself out of his reverie and actually read what was on the screen this time.

"Ah, previous for wasting police time. This isn't looking good is it?"

Sam shook her head. "Not really no, Catriona's statement wouldn't stand up in court."

Phil sighed. "Back to square one then?"

"I suppose. Let me know if you find anything."

"Will do." Phil nodded, going back to his desk. "Oh, by the way Sam, loving the hair."

Sam smiled and felt her cheeks going pink. Somehow still could still make her feel like a teenage girl with a crush with even the smallest of compliments.

* * *

Zain rewound the tape again and adjusted the volume. Catriona had answered all of the questions that Sam and Phil had asked her but it didn't really help them to find out exactly what had happened to Sarah. It was twenty four hours since she had come into the station to report the sexual assault and they still had no suspects or any strong leads to go on. Honey and Dan were wading through notes and statements they had made the night before and Smithy was gettign square eyes from staring at frame after frame of CCTV footage. Zain sighed as the taped interview came to an end. All he wanted was justice for Sarah but it was getting harder and harder to find.

* * *

**Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far, especially Emma, Lorna, Bex and Stacey Ellen! Please keep reviewing, chapter 5 will be up soon! luv, Vikki xxx**


	5. She Needs Him

You Needed Me

Chapter 5: She Needs Him

Sarah gave her statement to Suzie and signed it. She hoped that this would be the last time that she'd have to talk about her rape, at least until her case went to trial. That was if they ever found a suspect. Suzie and Zain had both been enthusiastic at the beginning but Sarah couldn't help noticing that they didn't seem to be as hopeful now. Zain offered to drop Sarah off at home afterwards, he wanted to reassure her that they were getting somewhere with their investigations but he couldn't, not yet anyway. Zain walked Sarah to her front door.

"You know you can contact Suzie or me whenever you need to or if you remember something, don't you?" He told her.

"Thank you." Sarah replied, giving him a weak smile. She pushed open the front door and stepped inside.

"One of us will call you if we discover anything new. Will you be okay?" Zain asked.

Sarah nodded. "I'll be fine thanks." She just hoped that she believed her words.

Zain hated leaving her like this but he had no other choice. The best way of helping her was to get back to work and try to make a breakthrough in the case.

When Zain walked into CID he went straight to see how Sam and Phil were getting on. He hoped that they had something more than he and Suzie had come up with originally. Sam and Phil were sat together at one computer terminal and Zain couldn't help noticing how close they were to each other. This was something that hadn't happened since Stuart had arrived at Sun Hill. Zain wondered if things between Sam and Phil would go back to how they were before. He approached them and took a seat on a vacant swivel chair nearby.

"Have you found out anything?" He asked. "Anything at all?" Zain rested his elbows on the edge of the desk and placed his head in his hands.

"Yes and no." Sam began before indicating that Phil should continue.

"Sam and I ran some background checks into Catriona Ward's past and we've found out that she has previous."

Zain groaned. "What for?"

"Wasting police time." Phil dropped the bombshell, waiting for Zain's reaction.

In frustration Zain slammed his fist down hard on the desk, making the computer monitor shake as well as attracting unwanted attention from the other detectives in the room.

"It does get better." Sam interjected, she could understand Zain's frustration. He was working on a case with with no suspects as yet and now the key witness was unreliable and may be more of a criminal than a witness after all.

"We've also found out that she is the sister of Robbie Ward." Phil explained.

Zain thought hard, he was sure he recognised that name from somewhere but he just couldn't place where, how or why.

"I know that name." He said out loud, voicing his thoughts.

Phil nodded. "You probably do, he's got a criminal record as long as his arm for possession, intent to supply, GBH...but he's never been convicted."

This was getting more and more complicated as the case progressed.

Sarah dragged herself up off the sofa as the doorbell rang and brushed biscuit crumbs off of her dark blue tracksuit. She walked slowly down the hall and looked through the glass in the front door, trying to make out who it was. Sarah opened the front door to see Zain on her doorstep.

"Hi, sorry for not calling first but I need to talk to you some more about the case." He apologised.

"It's okay." She replied, letting him in and showing him into the living room. Truthfully she didn't want to talk about it anymore but she knew that Zain was only trying to help. Zain got the laptop out of it's case and sat down on the sofa, placing it on his lap. Sarah took a seat next to him, wondering what was going on.

"I just want you to see if you recognise anyone. You can take as long as you like." Zain said reassuringly as he booted up the computer.

The first page of face Sarah saw were all female but she didn't recognise any of them. She shook her head.

"Sorry, I've never seen any of them before."

Zain clicked onto the next page of photographs. Sarah scanned the screen again and once more she could recognise no one, she was about to shake her head again when...

"Her!" She pointed at the face marked U. "It's her. That's Cat from the Pub."

Zain smiled. "Well done." He selected the photograph and saved the file. "Can I ask you to look at just a few more."

Sarah just shrugged and Zain took this as a signal to continue and opened up another document. Sarah took a deep breath and looked at the screen which was filled with pictures of men this time. Subconsciously her hand gripped the edge of the sofa. She desperatley wanted Zain to catch the man that had done this to her but at the same time she was starting to panic at the thought of having to see his face again.

"That's him." She choked out, her hand shaking as she reached out to point at the screen. Sarah tried to hold back her tears but it was useless, so many memories were flooding back to her. "That's the man who raped me."

Sarah broke down into tears, Zain placed the laptop onto the coffee table and held Sarah in his arms as she cried. He gently stroked her dark hair and whispered gently to her.

"It'll be okay, I'll make it okay."

_I cried a tear_

_You wiped it dry_

_I was confused_

_You cleared my mind_


	6. A Bad Dream

**You Needed Me  
Chapter 6: A Bad Dream**

_This chapter is dedicated to Emma for her enthusiasm about this fic! Lol!  
Thanks for all the reviews, please keep leaving them!  
Oh, and if you haven't 'met' her yet Rachel Casper is Dan's sister who also happens to be Smithy's girlfriend in some of my fics!  
Please review and i'll update soon! Vikki x x x_

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_I wake up, it's a bad dream  
__No one on my side  
__I was fighting  
__But I just feel to tired to be fighting  
__Guess I'm not the fighting kind  
__Wouldn't mind it if you were by my side  
__- A Bad Dream - Keane_

_Sarah rested her back against the outer stone wall of the Seven Bells Pub. She pulled her black jacket tighter around herself and waited for the taxi to pull up. It was typical that her's was the last to arrive. A man came out of the Pub, smoking a cigarette, the door slammed behind him and brought Sarah back out of her reverie._

_"Hello love." He grinned, coming to stand next to her._

_"Hi." She replied self consciously, moving further from him. Where the hell had her taxi got to?_

_"What are you doing out here by yourself? It's not safe for a pretty girl like you to be out here all alone, you never know who might be about." He grinned self confidently._

_Sarah made a non commital noise of agreement and nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Something about this man was really beginning to unsettle her and with good reason too._

_"You're not scared of me, are you?" He asked after a few moments of silence had passed between them._

_Sarah gave a nervous laugh and shook her head but she was really becoming frightened of him now._

_"Stupid girl!" He spat turning, pining her against the wall in one movement before Sarah even had time to get a handle on the situation. She tried to fight back at him but he was far too strong for her. He began to lift up Sarah's knee length black skirt but she kept trying to push him away from her. She wouldn't give up without a fight and she wouldn't be his victim although she had very little choice. He hit her with a harsh blow to the head. Sarah faded in and out of consciousness as he assaulted her body. The whole time Sarah was aware of a stench that she couldn't get away from and she was repulsed by his touch. The pain and revulsion as he entered her was enough to make her lose all consciousness._

_The next she remembered was seeing a pretty blonde girl and being helped to her feet. Sarah recognised her as one of the barmaids from the Pub and she helped Sarah into a taxi that had pulled up. Suddenly the driver's face became his; the rapists and then so did everyone else's..._

Sarah woke up and sat bolt upright in bed; the bed that she had been empty since she and her previous boyfriend Mark had broken up three months ago. Her palms were sweaty and Sarah could see where her nails had been digging into the flesh of her palms. She pulled down the shoulder of her pyjama mark and looked at the mark there. Sarah knew that it would heal soon but it would take much longer for the emotional scars to face away. She shivered as she climbed out of bed and walked towards the bathroom to shower.

Sam drove them to the address, Zain was sat in the passenger seat and seemed very reserved this morning and not his usual self. She had already asked him once if he was okay but he had snapped at her. Sam knew it was better to leave him alone, she also knew how much this case was getting to him. Zain and Sam didn't say another word to each other until they arrived at the address.

"You go round the back." Zain told Sam, even though she was the superior officer. They had finally reached the house that was in the less desirable end of a council estate.

Sam said nothing in reply but made her way round to the back of the property while Zain knocked on the front door.

Zain heard a muffled and not particularly amused 'I'm coming' shouted from within and eventually the door was opened by a man a few inches shorter the Zain but with a shaved head. He was wearing ripped, faded blue denim jeans and a grey vest that might have been white once.

"Who are you?" He demanded.

Zain was already holding his warrant card in the man's face.

"DC Nadir, Sun Hill CID. May I come in?" He pushed his way into the house without waiting for a reply. Zain followed him through to the kitchen before pushing him against the wall with full force.

"Robbie Ward, I'm arresting you on suspicion on sexual assault you do not have to say anything..."

Sam walked in through the back door just as Zain was snapping on the handcuffs. Zain then handed Robbie over to Leela and Tony who had arrived in the patrol car outside.

Sam looked at Zain with a slight smirk on her face.

"Feel better now?"

Rachel Casper walked into Sun Hill Police Station and asked to speak to DS Suzie Sim. Honey was at the reception desk and asked Rachel to take a seat in the waiting area to wait for Suzie to come down from CID. While she was waiting Smithy walked past and did a double take before stopping in front of her.

"Hey babes." He smiled, Rachel stood up and kissed him on the lips. "You missed me that much huh?"

Rachel laughed. "You wish." She teased playfully. "I'm actually here for work."

Smithy looked interested.

"You heard about the Sarah Adams rape case?" Rachel asked.

Smithy nodded. "Yeah, I was on reception when she came in."

"Really? Well, I'm her lawyer. They've finally caught a suspect, I'm here to see DS Sim."

"I'm glad you're here." Smithy smiled, stroking some hair out of her face. "Even if it's for work."

Rachel kissed him again but broke away when she heard a cough from behind her. She spun round and saw DS Sim with an amused expression on her face.

"Bye." She turned to wave at Smithy, who was looking just as embarrassed as she was.

Rachel followed Suzie to an interview room, she wanted to make a solid case for Sarah's sake.

Sarah spent another day moping on the sofa, she knew she should get her act together but she wasn't in the mood for seeing people. Dealing with the police on a day to day basis was bad enough. Her work had been understanding and had given her two weeks off, it was close to October half term and she was needed as much as she would be towards the end of term. Sarah was a child psychologist who visited different schools from time to time to help with the children. She longed to her back to work, she loved her job and was getting sick of daytime television but knew she wasn't ready yet. Especially if the man who did this to her was still out there.

Sam and Zain walked back into CID just as Stuart Turner was on his way out, his arms were full with everything he was taking with him to his new job with the kidnap unit. Sam would be glad when he was gone, she loved him but he was hurting her far too much and she didn't need that in her life. She walked passed him and headed for her desk and Zain went over to his. When Sam reached her desk Phil was already stood up next to it.

"Hey," He smiled sympathetically. "Are you alright?"

Sam went over to her desk and made it look like she was sorting out her paperwork when she really just needed something to focus on other than Phil or Stuart.

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not." Phil replied, standing closer. "It's okay to be upset."

"I'm not upset!" Sam snapped, but the break in her voice told how she really felt.

"Hey, come here." Phil whispered, pulling Sam into his open arms. "You'll be okay."

He held her close, neither of them caring that half of CID were staring at them.


	7. Mates and Dates

**You Needed Me  
****Chapter 7: Mates and Dates**

* * *

Thanks to: Emma, Lornz, Bex and Ami for reviewing the last chapter!  
There's some SP as well as promised! Hope you like this chapter and please review!  
Luv vikki xx

* * *

"Let me take you out tonight?" Phil said, wondering if this was very tactful after her recent break up with Stuart. It was too late now, the words were out in the open. "Just to cheer you up." He added, just to be on the safe side.

"I...I don't know..." Sam replied, she wanted to say yes so badly but she wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not. After the way Stuart had treated her she wasn't sure if she was ready for another relationship, she didn't want to ruin her friendship with Phil either.

"Just for a pizza or something." Phil offered. "As friends."

Sam nodded a little too quickly. "Of course."

"Is that a yes?" Phil asked.

"Yeah okay, thanks." She smiled, somehow Phil could always cheer her up. He got up and walked away to his desk, he had a stack of paperwork that needed his attention although he'd far rather give his full attention to Sam.

"Phil!" She called after him, her turned around.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Phil smiled, he wanted to tell her that he'd do anything for the woman he loved but now was not the right time.

* * *

"Where are you going?" Smithy asked Zain as he made his way out of CID and walked through the reception area. Smithy, much to his delight, was back manning the reception desk again.

"Out. Is that okay Serge?" Zain replied sarcastically.

"Where are you going?" He repeated.

Zain sighed. "Fine. I'm going to see Sarah. Is that alright?" He snapped.

Smithy looked at him sympathetically now. "Zain, Suzie's talking to Rachel now about making a case for her. Don't you think you're getting a little too involved here?"

Zain raised his eyebrows, he knew it would be unfair to mention Louise Larson now but it was hard not to.

"I care about this case." He said instead, trying to keep his temper. He knew Smithy was only looking out for him as a friend and from his own personal experience. "I know what I'm doing."

Smithy nodded. "Fair enough."

Zain walked away before he could say anymore, he needed to see Sarah and make sure she was alright.

* * *

Sarah jumped out of her skin when the doorbell rang and instantly the adrenaline began to pour through her veins. She had been lost in some black and white romance drama and had lost track of time. She dragged herself up off the sofa and wondered who was at the door. Sarah had barely spoken to any of her friends since, she was too ashamed to tell them what was really wrong. She had lied about being ill and had told her work she would be taking some time off. A horrifying thought struck her, what if it was him? What if Suzie and Zain hadn't caught him yet. Panic took over and she didn't know what to do. She edged slowly towards the door as the bell sounded again.

"Sarah?" A man's voice called from outside. "Sarah? Are you in? It's Zain."

Sarah sighed with relief and felt foolish at the same time. She unlocked the door and let him in.

Zain's heart went out to Sarah when he saw her. Her hair was tied back in a loose, unruly bun, there were dark shadows under her eyes and she looked like she hadn't sleep for weeks. Some part of him just wanted to hold her but he knew that was the last thing he should be doing.

"Hi." She greeted, smiling only slightly.

"Hi." He smiled. "Sorry for just dropping by but I wanted to check to see if you're doing okay."

"I'm fine thank you." Sarah replied sharply and then felt guilty. Zain was only trying to help her. "Would you like a cup of coffee? Or tea?"

"Tea would be great thanks." Zain replied, and followed her into the kitchen. "Suzie's talking to your brief at the moment, Rachel Casper, she'll be coming to see you soon. I think you'll like her, she's one of my good friend's girlfriends." He explained.

Sarah smiled. "Thank you."

"I'm only doing my job." Zain said, but they both knew that it was more than that.

* * *

They sat and talked for a while as they drank their cups of tea. Sarah was surprised at how relaxed she could be in Zain's company even after everything had happened to her in the past few days. If circumstances were different she definetley would have liked him but she knew that she was just part of his job and at the end of the day she was just another case to him. Zain wanted her to know that she meant more to him than most other cases that landed on his desk but he didn't know how to without compromising the trust he had built up between them.

"If you ever need to talk..." He began, realising too late that he had already said this all before. This was the job he was supposed to be good at, why were simple things so hard for him now?

"Thank you Zain." Sarah said again, taking his empty cup away from his and going to the kitchen with it. Zain waited in the doorway as she rinsed the cups out and put them in the dishwasher.

"I should go." He said regretfully, just because Sarah's case was his main priority now didn't mean that he could forget about all the other victims, criminals and paperwork however much he wanted to.

"Thanks for coming." Sarah said at the door, feeling awkward at the amount of times she had thanked him in the last hour.

"It's all part of the service." Zain replied, trying to lighten the atmosphere. Sarah smiled, sensing now that maybe it was more than that. "Rachel will probably come round later."

Sarah nodded, leaning against the doorframe. Zain hesistated on his way to his car and turned to face her, there was so much more he wanted to say but the words wouldn't come to him.

"Bye Sarah." He said, feeling like it was inadequate but it would have to do. He knew he needed to get back to the station and bury himself in something else other than this case. However, that wasn't to be.


	8. Back In The Picture

**You Needed Me  
Chapter 8: Back In The Picture

* * *

**

Thanks to Bex, Emma, Ami, Lornz and Sammi for reviewing. I hope you like this chapter. It'll all get more interesting soon, with the trial and Sarah and Zain's feelings. Please review. Vikki x.

After Zain had gone Sarah felt a little better and although it was still early days she hoped that she had started the process of moving on from her terrible ordeal. She knew that it would always haunt her and she would never really get over it, it still helped to know that she was coming to terms with it. Having so much support from Zain and Suzie helped too. Sarah remembered what Zain had said about the lawyer coming to see her later and decided to take a shower first. When she got dressed she decided to ditch the tracksuit she had been wearing during the days since the rape and put on jeans a purple top instead. Sarah stopped in front of her dressing table mirror and pondered over putting make up on or not. She decided against it, one step at a time she told herself. She wondered what Rachel would be like, Zain seemed to know her well and Sarah just hoped that she would be able to put away whoever raped her. Sarah had just finishing blow drying her hair when the doorbell rang. She opened it, not feeling so nervous this time as she knew who it would be.

* * *

Rachel Casper smiled as Sarah answered the door and let her in. She held out her hand for Sarah to shake.

"You must be Sarah Adams, I'm Rachel Casper and I'll be your brief for this case." She tried to keep her voice professional and caring at the same time, it was something she was used to now.

Sarah smiled briefly and they took seats in the living room. Here we go again she thought.

* * *

Phil had time to go home and shower and change before he met up with Sam. He wanted her to know that he had made an effort to dress up for the occassion. Even thought Phil had told her that it was just pizza between friends they both knew that it was something more. Before Stuart had come along they had gone out for drinks as friends but Phil had never felt as anxious yet excited as he did now. Sam had also made the effort tonight even though they weren't going on anywhere up market. She had changed out of her suit into a pair of smart, dark blue jeans and a baby pink halterneck top. Phil thought she looked beautiful but then he always thought that about her. He couldn't believe how nervous he felt, he knew, now that Stuart was out of the picture, that there was no way he could let Sam down the way he had before.

Sam was feeling equally as nervous as she waited for Phil to pick up. To begin with she had thought that she had the most to lose out of the pair of them but now she realised that she had moved on from Stuart so why couldn't she relax and have fun with someone who genuinely seemed to like her. Sam pulled on her black coat as she heard the doorbell ring and she followed Phil nervously to the car.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Sam asked, when Phil had got into the car and started the ignition.

"Pizza Express on Canley Road." He replied, looking at Sam to make sure he had made the right decision. She surprised him by laughing, but not unkindly.

"You were serious about going out for pizza then?" She joked.

"Deadly." Phil laughed too and they both visibly relaxed, both determined to enjoy their evening out together.

* * *

"Thank you for everything." Sarah said later as Rachel was about to leave. "I don't know how I'm ever going to make it to the trial but I feel a lot better now, so thank you." She tried to make a joke of it but she was petrified about having to go to caught if the case went to trial.

Rachel smiled kindly, resting her hand lightly on Sarah's arm. She wanted to reassure her but she didn't want to freak her out either. She had dealt with enough rape victims to know the do's and do not's. Sarah tried not to show her discomfort, she didn't know why Rachel's friendly gesture was effecting her so much. Inside she was screaming for Rachel to leave but on the outside she remained polite.

"Thanks again." She said, signalling that she was uncomfortable. Rachel took her hand away quickly and headed for her car.

"Call me anytime you need to." Rachel told her, echoing Zain's words. Sarah stopped dead for a moment. Zain. She watched Rachel walk to her car and then shut the front door. It had become a reflex now for her to lock the door straightaway and she did so before heading to the telephone table.

* * *

Zain was walking out of the station and home for the day when his mobile phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his trouser pocket and looked at the caller display. He was quite surprised, although maybe he shouldn't be to see Sarah's name there.

"Hello?" He answered, there was a pause at the end of the line almost as if Sarah was having second thoughts about calling him. In truth that was exactly what she was doing.

Sarah hoped he didn't hear her take a deep breath on the other end of the line.

"Hi, it's Sarah. I just thought I'd tell you that Rachel just came by." She stopped, realising how lame she sounded.

"That's good." Zain replied. "Are you feeling any better now?" He felt that it was a stupid question, it was so much harder to talk to her over the phone than it was face to face.

"I'm okay." Sarah replied, hoping it sounded convincing but she doubted it.

"Are you sure?" Zain asked before he'd had time to think about it.

Sarah laughed ironically. "Never better." She replied, heavy on the sarcasm.

"Sorry, I didn't think." Zain was mentally and physically kicking himself.

"It's okay." Sarah told him. "You shouldn't have to."

Zain didn't like where this conversation was heading, many rape victims blamed themselves for what had happened to them and he did not want Sarah to go down that road too.

"Would you like me to drop by?" He asked, letting the question hang.

Sarah opened her mouth to reply, glad that Zain couldn't see her.

"Okay." She replied, she really wanted to say yes but she already felt like she had taken up far too much of the DC's time.

"I'll be right round." He said gently, hanging up the phone. He knew that he should stop this now before things went too far but she needed him and he would be there.


	9. Nothing Else Matters

**You Needed Me  
Chapter 9: Nothing Else Matters****

* * *

**

**This chapter is dedicated to Emma. Happy Birthday, woo, have a great day!  
Also thanks to: Lorna, Becki and Kelly for reviewing!**

Sam and Phil sat opposite each other at a table for two and studied their menus; at least they pretended to. Phil kept stealing glances at Sam over the top of his menu when he thought she wasn't looking to make sure that she was alright and that she was enjoying herself. He didn't know that Sam was doing exactly the same thing, they both looked up at the same time and their eyes met briefly. Sam felt herself blush bright red and looked down, forcing herself to concentrate choosing something to eat. Phil cleared his throat as the waiter stopped at the table and Sam looked up, her cheeks still slightly more pink than usual.

This chapter is dedicated to Emma. Happy Birthday, woo, have a great day! Also thanks to: Lornz, Becki and Kelly for reviewing! 

"What do you want Sam?" Phil asked gently.

"I don't mind, you order." She smiled.

Phil knew her well enough to know exactly what she loved and what she hated. That's what made their friendship so strong and the possibility of something more happening between them seem even more likely. When she was with Stuart, Sam had thought that she had finally moved on from the idea of being with Phil but now that he was gone, she wasn't sure if she could be so strong. They lost some of their awkwardness and began to talk together like they usually did while they waited for their food to arrive. Their pizza arrived and Sam grinned.

"You remembered that Haiwaiian was my favourite?"

Phil smiled. "Of course, how could I forget?"

_Flashback:_

_"Phil, you look like a dork!" Sam laughed, letting him in and shutting the front door to stop the heat from escaping._

_"So what else is new?" He asked, laughing too as he took the box through to the living room. Phil had borrowed his brother's motorbike to deliver Sam's favourite pizza to her and was still wearing the helmet._

_"Thank you Phil, you didn't have to come round." She told him, touched by his kindness all the same._

_"I couldn't let you starve and I wanted to see if you were okay."_

_"Phil, it's just a cold...flu at worst. I'll be back to work in a few days." She assured him._

_"I know, but I...I miss you, you're the only who will put up with me and do my paperwork for me."_

_Sam laughed out loud at him. "Touching Phil, very touching. Anyway, what flavour is this pizza and more importantly is it edible?"_

_Phil glared at her playfully. "I can just take it back..."_

_"Not so fast!" Sam lifted the lid and smiled. "How did you know Haiwaiian was my favourite?" She asked._

_"Well...I was just rooting through your rubbish bin...actually it was a lucky guess!" He admitted._

_"Thank you, Phil." She leant up and kissed his cheek._

_Phil smiled. "You'd better not have infected me."_

_"Shut up!" Sam laughed, he hugged her and left her to get better and eat her pizza._

* * *

Rachel Casper drove back to Sun Hill to meet with Suzie Sim to talk about Sarah's case. Robbie Ward was being held in custody and for the moment it looked like he could be the rapist. DNA evidence had come back from Forensics and a hair had been found on the skirt that Sarah had been wearing that matched Ward's DNA. However it wasn't conclusive, as although it tied Robbie Ward to the scene it did not mean that he was guilty of raping her. 

Rachel believed that if they could get more conclusive evidence then they could certainly put Robbie away for a good few years. Suzie was already working on organising a second interview with Robbie's sister Catriona Ward to see if they could get her to crack and stop protecting her older brother. Things were looking a lot better for Sarah's case than they had done twenty four hours ago. After they had met to talk about the meeting with Sarah, Suzie thanked Rachel for her help and agreed to fill Zain in the next morning.

* * *

Robbie Ward sat in his cell and kicked against the concrete wall repeatedly, he was fed up of being stuck in here for doing no wrong. So what if his hair had been found on this woman, whoever she was. What was it to him? Why should he car? The only thing Ward cared about was getting out of this godforsaken hole of a police holding cell. 

"What do you want?" A man's voice asked through the now opened gap in the door.

Robbie looked up and saw the sergeant who had booked him in, Sergeant Smith was it?

"To get outta here." He replied, looking back down at the filthy floor.

"Fat chance!" Smithy spat, slamming the door panel shut and walking away. That man made him mad and he didn't want to do anything that would jeopardise Sarah's case. He walked back to the custody desk just as June Ackland walked in.

"I'll take over now Smithy, why don't you get on home? Rachel's waiting in reception."

He didn't need telling twice. "Thank you June, I owe you!" Then Smithy rushed to get changed out of his uniform and to meet Rachel.

* * *

Zain stopped his car outside Sarah's house, still having doubts about going in. He couldn't help the fact that he was really beginning to fall for her even though she was the suspect and he was the copper. It was wrong, he knew that. Zain rubbed his forehead with his hand before he got out of the car. He tried to tell himself that this was like any other case when a victim needed his support. Somehow it felt more than that although it shouldn't. Zain had learnt that hard way about getting involved with things he shouldn't have. He made a promise with himself that he wouldn't let Sarah down so he got out of the car, locked it and headed for her front door. 

"Hey." Zain smiled when she answered the door. He was surprised, pleasantly so, to see her dressed in normal clothes and not the navy tracksuit she had been in before.

"Hi." Sarah replied with a smile of her own. "Come on in."

Zain followed her in and took a seat on the sofa, the room seemed tidier than it had before and smelt of the outdoors and fresh mown grass.

"I really like your flat." Zain commented, trying to make things seem a bit more natural.

"Thanks, it's a pig sty really!" Sarah laughed nervously. "Can I get you something to drink, tea, coffee...something stronger?"

Zain was about to decline and say that he was working when he realised that his shift was over.

"A glass of wine would be nice." Zain said.

Sarah went out into the kitchen and came back a few minutes later with two glasses of red wine. Zain took his and sipped from his.

"Thank you Sarah."

She smiled. "It's okay. Thank you for coming by...again." She laughed nervously again.

Zain wanted to tell her again that it was all part of his job but he knew it was more than that now and he guessed that Sarah felt this too. He wished now more than ever that he and Sarah could have met under different circumstances but this was better than never having met her at all.

"They'll catch whoever did this you know." Zain told her, after swallowing a mouthful of wine.

Sarah shrugged. "Yeah...I guess..."

"We _will _catch him."

Sarah smiled slightly. "But then I'll have to go through the trial and be questioned and no one will believe me." Her voice was becoming thick with emotion.

"Hey, it'll be alright." Zain said, putting his wine glass down and turning towards where she was sitting next to him on the sofa. "Suzie and I will be there for you every step of the way."

Sarah put her wine glass down too, knowing that she'd had enough for one night.

"I'm just so scared." She said, playing with the sleeve of her top and trying not to look at Zain.

"That's normal." Zain soothed, moving a little closer to her.

"I don't feel normal." Sarah cried. "I hate what he's turned me into, I hate what I've become because of him." She began to cry and Zain didn't know what else to do. He took her in his arms and pulled her close to him. Sarah hugged him back, hanging on like she never wanted to let go.

"You can fight this Sarah, don't let him win."

She looked at him, their faces closer than they had ever been before. Neither of them knew who initiated the kiss first but it didn't seem to matter. Nothing else seemed to matter.

_You held me up_

_And gave me dignity_

_Somehow you needed me_

* * *

Before I get totally flamed for this chapter because of the fact that Sarah was only raped a week ago, fiction wise, and she's now kissing someone else. I just wanted to add a happy bit to this story, and I was in the mood for writing fluff. So yeah, please don't kill me for this, it will all be smoothed out later on. Please review! Vikki xxx 


	10. Leaving You

**You Needed Me  
****Chapter 10 : Leaving You**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed and to Emma for betaing the first paragraph or so!  
The lyrics at the end are from 'Cancer' by My Chemical Romance.  
Please keep reviewing! Vikki x.**

Zain kissed her more passionately, taking her face in his hands. Sarah kissed him back, neither of them aware of anything except each other. She opened her eyes for a second, she wanted to make sure that this moment was real and that she wasn't imagining it. Sarah automatically closed them again but Zain had sensed that something was wrong. He broke away from her but remained standing as close to her as before.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

Sarah looked at the ground, unable to meet his eyes.

"It wasn't your fault." She replied. "It wasn't just you."

Zain put his hand on Sarah's shoulder, near the bite mark but he didn't know that. Sarah flinched at his touch, not because it was him but because of what he had touched.

"I'm a detective Sarah, I'm your liasion officer, what I did was wrong and I'm sorry." Zain said, he wasn't sorry that he had kissed her but he was sorry that he had kissed her under these circumstances. It wasn't fair on Sarah, she had been through enough already without adding this to the list. However, his hand still remained on her shoulder, it was supposed to be a friendly gesture but to Sarah it was anything but that.

"Get off me!" She exploded, moving away from him so fast that Zain barely had time to react. Sarah ran from him, sobbing uncontrollably. Zain's touch had triggered more memories of the rape; memories that she didn't want to think about. Sarah turned back to him. "I'm sorry, please go." She said, before walking passed him and heading for the bathroom. Zain wasn't going anywhere. He felt that he was to blame for causing Sarah to react this way. He followed her but heard the bolt slide across the bathroom door. Zain sighed, he was learning the hard way not to mix work and relationships.

* * *

"Do you want a dessert?" Phil asked, pushing the plate his pizza had been on to one side. Sam shook her head as she did the same.

"I'd love one but I'm stuffed! It was a lovely meal thought Phil." She smiled gratefully.

"It was just pizza." Phil admitted, self consciously.

Sam put her hand on Phil's across the table. "It was more than that to me." She said gently.

Phil smiled, placing his other hand over hers.

"Shall we get out of here?" Phil asked, signalling to a waitress that he wanted the bill.

Sam nodded. "I think that's a good idea." She replied breathlessly.

Phil paid for the meal and he and Sam put their coats on before heading outside into the night air. Sam linked arms with Phil and they walked back to where he had parked his car. Phil unlocked it and held open the passenger door for Sam.

"Thank you." She smiled, Phil may have had the reputation of being a philandering and unfaithful husband in the past but he also knew how to be a gentleman.

Phil climbed into the driver's seat and turned the key in the ignition.

"Your place or mine?" He asked with a cheeky smirk.

* * *

"Sarah, please come out. I'm sorry, I was out of order. Can't we just forget about this?" Zain asked, keep his voice level and trying to remain calm as he stood outside the bathroom door.

Sarah sat on the edge of the bath trying to get her breathing and crying under control. She sobbed loudly as she fought to keep her emotions in check, Zain heard this through the bathroom door and it made him panic further.

"Sarah, are you okay?" He asked, his voice betraying him now. He could hear her moving around in the bathroom and heard a tap running. "Please come out, we can talk about this?"

"I'm fine Zain, I'm sure you have other places to be." Sarah answered, speaking for the first time since her explosion a few minutes earlier.

"Maybe I do but I want to be here." He replied.

Sarah sighed, sipping from the glass of water that she kept in the bathroom. She put in down beside the sink and walked to the door.

Zain exhaled in relief as he heard the bolt slide back, Sarah cautiously pushed the door open and stepped into the hallway. Zain smiled reassuringly at her.

"I won't leave you until I know you're okay." He told her.

Sarah laughed bitterly. "You'll have a long wait then." She looked away from him, close to tears again.

Zain pulled her into a tight but brief embrace.

"You know where I am, whenever you need me. Night and day?" Zain said, heading for the door. He sensed that Sarah needed some alone time even if he didn't want to leave her.

She nodded, following him to the front door. Sarah watched him go. Zain sat in his car for five minutes after leaving Sarah's house, he was still wondering if leaving her in this state was a good idea. He knew he needed to remember that this was just an ordinary case and he needed to start treating it that way.

_I won't kiss you  
__Because the hardest part of this  
__Is leaving you._


	11. Good News

**You Needed Me  
Chapter 11: Good News**

**Sorry for the lack of updates recently and the shortness of this chapter. Soo much work at the mo! Anyway, it'll be Christmas soon so I'll update as much as possible.  
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and to Emma for her enthusiasm lol!  
Please review! Luv, Vikki xXx.**

* * *

When Zain got into work the next day there was a post-it note stuck to his computer screen telling him to call Rachel Casper as soon as he could. He didn't recognise the writing and he looked around the room to see who was there. Zain's gaze fell over two empty desks that were close together; Sam and Phil's. He was surprised that Sam, who was always here early, wasn't there yet. If his mind hadn't been so full of Sarah's case he might have been suspicious. Little did he know that he had good reason to be, it was the last thing on his mind though now.

Zain sat down as his desk and dialled the number write on the bright pink post-it note and waited impatiently as the phone rang and rang.

"Hello?" The phone was eventually answered, Zain found it hard to suppress his frustration when he spoke though.

"Rachel, it's Zain Nadir. I got a message to call you." He replied, as civilly as possible.

"Sorry Zain, thinks have been a little...uh...hectic this morning." Rachel apologised.

"Well, do we have a case or not?" He asked impatiently.

"Uh, yes we do. Robert Ward will be appearing in court tomorrow morning on suspicion of rape." Rachel told him.

All of Zain's anger towards Rachel slipped away, if she had been there he would have hugged her.

"Thank you so much, you've made my day." Zain told her as he hung up, he hoped it would make Sarah's day too.

"Not a problem." Rachel said, putting the phone down at her end. She rolled over in bed and kissed Smithy on the lips. He grinned at her, pleased that the Sarah case was close to being closed and that he had finally told Rachel that he loved her.

* * *

Zain screwed the pink post-it note into a ball and aimed it at the bit. He couldn't believe how happy he felt after receiving Rachel's call. Next, he had to tell Sarah the news. He knew that he should call her but he really wanted to see her so he decided to pop round to her house instead. On the way to his turquoise Pegeout that was parked at the front of the station, he saw Phil Hunter and Sam Nixon getting out of Phil's car. Zain had had every right to be suspicious it appeared. Phil kissed Sam on the lips before they sprung apart, Zain grinned at them. He couldn't help it, the good news had really cheered him up. Sam blushed a deep red and Phil looked at the ground, Zain just waved as he passed them. He was happy for them, it had taken them long enough hadn't it?!

* * *

Sarah made herself a cup of tea and stood in front of the kitchen window. It was nearly ten o'clock and most of her neighbours had gone to work. She felt alone as she stood there. None of her friends lived very close by but she still felt isolated. Part of her was ready to go back to work but she knew that she couldn't quite face it yet. Especially not if she had to go through the trial process which could take forever. Sarah sometimes wondered if she had made the right decision in reporting the rape. Maybe, she should just have moved on with her life and put it behind her but she would hate herself if it happened to another unsuspecting young woman. The sound of the doorbell ringing brought her out of her reverie and she put her mug down beside the sink and went to answer the door.

* * *

Sarah took a deep breath and pulled the front door open and came face to face with Zain. Her cheeks flushed when she saw him, so many memories came back to her. The kiss and the aftermath of the kiss were still on her mind. She wondered if he regretted it happening or not. Maybe she would never know.

"Zain?" She asked, letting him in out of the cold.

"Hi Sarah." He smiled, resisting the urge to make this more informal that it should be.

"What can I do for you?" She asked.

"I've got some good news." Zain paused. "The man who raped you is going on trial tomorrow. It's just the initial hearing but at least it's in motion."

Sarah didn't know what to say or how to react. Suddenly she burst into tears. She didn't know why but she thought it was probably a mixture of relief and panic at having to defend herself in court. It was painful for Zain to watch her like this and he knew now that he was too involved. It didn't stop him closing the space between them and holding her petite body close to his own. She didn't back away or show any signs of discomfort so Zain carried on holding her until her tries had died away.

"Thank you." Sarah said weakly. "For everything."

Zain reached out and touched Sarah's cheek gently. He wanted to stay with her so much but there was work to be done. With a backward glance at her, Zain left the house and went back to work.


	12. All Rise

**You Needed Me  
Chapter 12: All Rise**

**Thanks to Emma, Bex and Lornz for reviewing the last chapter! Please keep reviewing!  
Happy New Year! Luv, Vikki xx.

* * *

**

Sarah Adams looked at herself in the full length mirror in her bedroom and studied her reflectioned before practicing the breathing techniques that her counsellor had taught her. It was a week since Robert Ward had been arrested and remanded in custody pending the trial for the alleged rape of Sarah Adams. She smoothed out her black pinstripe and white blouse, feeling nerves fluttering like butterflies in her stomach.

Zain Nadir was waiting for her in the living room so that he could drive her to court. He was nervous for her, he wanted her rapist brought to justice so that she could gain the closure she needed to move on. Zain knew that she was scared about today and he understood how she must be feeling. Sarah walked into the room just as Zain put his empty mug onto the coffee table.

"Are you ready then?" He asked, watching her as she checked she had everything she needed in her handbag.

Sarah looked up at him doubtfully. "I suppose I'll have to be."

"You'll be okay. Just tell them exactly what you told Suzie and I in the interview room and you'll be fine." Zain reassured her, standing up and putting his suit jacket on.

"But this is so much different." Sarah replied with a sigh. "This is going to be in a courtroom full of people and in front of him." She didn't want to say his name out loud, she didn't want to think of him as a person, it only made things harder.

"Just answer the questions and tell the truth. We've got enough evidence to send Robbie Ward down years." Zain told her as they moved awkwardly towards the front door.

"What if I screw it all up? What if I stand up there and I can't confront him?" Sarah asked, her voice raising as she began to panic.

"Hey," Zain said soothingly. "It'll all be over soon." He put his hand on her back and gently lead her towards the door.

"Thanks Zain." She replied, managing the smallest of smiles.

Zain gave her a quick hug, not wanting to freak her out with unwanted physical contact on today of all days.

"Come on, let's go." Sarah said, offering him another smile, a little warmer than before. "Before I change my mind."

* * *

Rachel Casper was waiting for Sarah and Zain when they arrived at the court. She could tell that Sarah was nervous and offered her a few wise words of advice, similar to Zain's early reassurances. Suzie Sim was also there, she had been present at Sarah's initial interview so both she and Zain would be questioned. Robbie Ward and his sister Catriona were also being called to the stand but where waiting in separate part of the court. DS Samantha Nixon and Phil Hunter were also there, they had worked on Sarah's case and found the evidence that had incriminated Robbie Ward.

The court was set to adjourn at eleven o'clock and Sarah was getting more nervous with each minute that passed. Zain offered her a coffee from the machine but she declined, she already had more than enough caffeine making its way through her veins.

* * *

"It's time." Phil said, walking towards the group with Sam at his side. He adjusted his tie that he had worn for the occasion and lead the way into the courtroom.

Sarah shot a nervous look at Zain and took a deep breath. The look in his eyes gave her all the encouragment she needed to enter the courtroom.

"All rise." The clerk said as the judge came in. Everyone got to their feet, some a little more shaky than others.

"We are here today to present the case of the rape of Sarah Adams." The judge, Claire Clarkson, said. "Please take your seats."

Sarah was glad that the judge was a woman, maybe she would get a little empathy or at least sympathy from her. However, Zain had told her that the judge had a reputation for being hard on both suspects and witnesses so she would just have to wait and see how it all played out.

* * *

Rachel took her seat next to the lawyer who would be defending Robert Ward and gave Sarah a warm, reassuring smile across the courtroom. Sarah was sat at the end of a bench with Zain next to her and the other detectives further along.

"We are here today for the trial of Robert Ward for the rape and sexual assault of Sarah Adams." Judge Clarkson began.

The defendent, Dennis Cameron, stood up and called Robbie Ward to the stand.

"Mr Ward, could you verify your whereabouts on the 14th September 2006 between the hours of 10pm and 1am?" He asked.

Robbie nodded. "Yes, I was with my girlfriend Kate the whole time." He said, looking over to a tall blonde woman sat on the otherside of the courtroom.

Dennis nodded too. "To your knowledge have you ever met Ms Adams before?"

"Not to my knowledge, no." Robbie replied.

Dennis Cameron turned to face the judge. "No further questions, Your Honour." Then he took his seat and Rachel stood up. Sarah felt nerves claw at her insides as she took a shaky breath. Rachel called her to the stand and she stood up, concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other as she headed for the witness box.


	13. Verdict

**You Needed Me  
Chapter 13: Verdict**

****

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Especially Emma for beta-ing! Sorry for putting much SP in recently but if you review I promise to include some SP fluff next chapter! Don't you just love bribery?!  
Please review, love Vikki x.

* * *

**

Sarah walked to the stand and took a few calming breaths before she met the judge's eye with a determined expression. Being in the same room as Robbie Ward, the man she knew had raped her, again had knocked her for six but now she was desperate for him to be put away for what he had done to her and what he could do to other women. As Sarah turned her gaze to her lawyer, Rachel gave her a warm smile of encouragment.

"Briefly, can you run through the events of the night of the 14th September 2006?" Rachel asked.

Sarah took a deep breath and tried to relax as she began to speak.

"I was at the Seven Bells Pub with a group of colleagues from work, we were out celebrating because one of my colleagues had been promoted." Sarah explained, her voice relaxing a little as she became absorbed in her story. She explained how everyone else had left, leaving her to wait for her taxi which had been delayed. With great difficulty and pain she was able to explain what had happened while she had been waiting for her taxi to arrive. Sarah found it hard to address the jury as she spoke, she hated how weak she felt but she was determined not to show Robbie how he had affect her and her life.

When Sarah had finished speaking Rachel gave her another warm smile.

"Well done Sarah, thank you." She turned to the judge. "No further questions."

She returned to her seat and Zain squeezed her hand.

"You did good." He whispered.

"Thanks." She replied, she just hoped it would all be enough.

* * *

In turn, Zain, Suzie, Sam and Phil were called to stand as well as Catriona Ward; Robbie's younger sister the barmaid who was the only one who would be able to give him an alibi; and a false one at that. Cat was called to the stand and was asked questions by the defense lawyer, Dennis Cameron, first and then by Rachel Casper.

"Can you confirm your whereabouts on the 14th of September from 9PM onwards?" Rachel asked.

Cat nodded before she replied. "I was working at the Pub until about 10 and then I went home to my brother so was watching a football match on the television."

Rachel waited a moment before continuing with her questions. She asked Catriona to recall which football match it was and what channel so that they could check that the stories corroborated.

"Why is Ms Adams so sure that it was you she saw outside the Seven Bells that night?" Rachel moved the questioning in a new direction.

For a moment it looked like Catriona was going to cave in but she regained her composure.

"I don't know, she must have got confused. She might have seen me there before or it could've been the alcohol or something."

Rachel sensed a weakness in Catriona and tried to make the best of it without exploiting her.

"Are you sure you didn't see her? Help her up? Call a taxi?"

Catriona shook her head firmly. "No, she must be mistaken. It wasn't me."

Rachel let out a sigh. "No further questions."

* * *

Later that afternoon, after a long recess, everyone reassembled back in the court room again. Sarah was even more nervous now, the verdict was about to be decided. She just hoped she had given them enough evidence to keep Robert Ward off the streets. Zain squeezed her hand again, quickly and tightly. She smiled at her, gritting her teeth as the judge entered the room and everyone stood up.

"On the charge of the sexual assault of Sarah Adams, we find the defendent."

There was a short pause that seemed to stretch on endlessly as the judge delievered the verdict.

"Not guilty."

Sarah felt hollow, she sat still her seat while Zain and others comforted her and reassured her. She wasn't interested in their sympathy right now, she was angry at herself for not doing enough to ensure that Robert was prosecuted.

"Come on, let's go." Zain said, putting his coat on and leading Sarah out of the court room. "I'm so sorry." He said, turning to face her once they were in the privacy of his car. "I feel like we've left you down."

Sarah hadn't said anything since they left court but she spoke now.

"I don't want you to feel like that. If anyone has let me down, it's myself. I should have done more, remembered more..." She stopped, resting her forehead against the cool glass of the car window.

"You did all you could." Zain told her.

Sarah sighed. "Can you take me home please?"

Zain shook his head. "I want you to stay in a hostel tonight."

"Zain..." Sarah began, fully prepared to object.

"No arguments Sarah. While that bastard is on the loose I'm not letting you be alone."

Sarah sighed. "Okay, if you think it's for the best."

* * *

Zain took Sarah back to her house so she could back an bag of clothes and things to take with her to the hostel. He went inside with her and explained why they were there and then went with Sarah and one of the hostel workers as she lead them up to one of the unoccupied rooms.

"Is this okay for you Sarah?" The hostel worker, Lucy, asked.

Sarah gave her a weak smile. "It's fine thanks."

"I'll leave you to settle in." Lucy told her. "I'll be downstairs if you need me for anything at all."

"Thanks Lucy." Sarah replied, waiting until the hostel worker had left the room before speaking to Zain. "Thanks for doing all this for me."

Zain smiled, turning go. He guessed that Sarah would need some time alone to think things through.

"I'll come back and see you later, if that's okay."

Sarah smiled. "I'd like that."


	14. In The Arms of an Angel

**You Needed Me  
Chapter 14: In The Arms of an Angel**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! Sorry for not updating sooner! There is some SP this chapter as promised! Song is 'Angel' by Sarah McLachlan!  
Please review! luv, Vikki xx

* * *

**

_Spend all your time waiting _

_For that second chance_

_For a break that would make it okay_

_There's always one reason_

_To feel not good enough_

_And it's hard at the end of the day._

Sarah sank down into the creaky mattress in her room in the women's refuge hostel. She opened the paperback novel that she had hastily packed when Zain had briefly dropped her at her house before bringing her here. She stared at the pages but the plot and the characters meant nothing to her. Sarah closed the book in frustration and pushed herself upright on the bed. Her hair was a mess so she took out the bands and clips which had been holding her French twist in place. She felt hungry but she couldn't face eating anything right now. Lucy had already asked her if she wanted anything from the canteen downstairs but Sarah had declined. At least her grumbling stomach gave her something else to focus on other than the court case which was now left in tatters. Sarah had convinced herself that all of this would be worth it if Ward was behind bars but now she wished she hadn't even gone to the police at all. But then she wouldn't have met Zain...

_I need some distraction_

_Oh, beautiful release_

_Memory seeps from my veins_

_Let me be empty_

_And weightless and maybe_

_I'll find some peace tonight._

"I feel so bad for her." Sam said to Phil as he drove them back to the station after the court was adjourned for the day.

"Yeah." Phil agreed, winding him way through the inner city traffic. "It must be really hard for her."

Sam leant back in the passenger seat and sighed.

"Have you got any plans for tonight?" She asked.

"Actually yes." Phil tried to hide his smirk from Sam.

"Oh, really?" Sam said, trying to disguise her disappointment with curiousity.

"Yeah, I'm taking this woman out for dinner and then taking her back to my place."

Sam rolled her eyes. "This woman?"

Phil smiled. "This woman who I happen to be in love with."

_In the arms of an angel_

_Fly away from here_

_From this dark, cold hotel room _

_And the endlessness that you feel_

_You are pulled from the wreckage_

_Of your silent reverie_

_You're in the arms of an angel_

_May you find some comfort here._

Sarah was jolted away from her thoughts by a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" She asked, sitting bolt upright and pushing her hair out of her face as she felt a wave of panic spreading through her. She knew it was irrational; she was safe here.

"It's me." Zain replied, opening the door and entering with a cardboard box from a pizza takeaway and cartons of Chinese food.

"Hi." She smiled wearily.

"I thought you might be hungry." Zain said, putting the food down.

"I'm starving." She confessed. "Thank you for this Zain, you didn't have to."

Zain smiled. "I convinced you to stay here, the least I can do is bring you unhealthy food!"

Sarah laughed. "I'm glad you came." She admitted. "I was going mad here."

Zain handed Sarah a plastic fork and a can of coke.

"It's all part of the service." But they both knew that it was more than just that.

_So tired of the straight line_

_And everywhere you turn_

_There's vultures and thieves at your back_

_And the storm keeps on twisting_

_You keep on building the lie  
That you make up for all that you lack._

"I'm stuffed." Sarah laughed, finishing her last mouthful of pizza. "But it was great."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

Sarah smiled, placing her hand on top of Zain's lightly.

"I want you to know that I appreciate everything that you have done for me." She told him.

Zain smiled back, looking down at where Sarah's hand remained and leant forward, brushing her lips with his. Sarah wanted to respond, she wanted to fall into Zain's arms right here and right now but she knew that she couldn't.

"I'm sorry Zain, I just..."

"It's okay, I was out of line." He got up and put his rubbish in the bin, Sarah followed, disposing of her empty coke can and paper napkin.

They both stood up, awkwardly close and in each other's personal space. Zain took the plunge and pulled Sarah into a hug. She cried silently into his shoulder. It had been a rollercoaster of a day and Sarah was surprised that she hadn't lost control yet.

_It don't make no difference_

_Escaping one last time_

_It's easier to believe in this_

_Sweet madness, oh this_

_Glorious sadness that brings me to my knees._

Phil took Sam's hand across the table as they waited for their after dinner coffees to arrive.

"Are you okay?" Phil asked.

Sam smiled. "Yes, I'm really enjoying myself, I just can't stop thinking about the case."

Phil smiled back at her. "We'll concentrate on the case tomorrow, there's nothing we can do now. Tonight is about us."

_In the arms of an angel_

_Fly away from here_

_From this dark, cold hotel room _

_And the endlessness that you feel_

_You are pulled from the wreckage_

_Of your silent reverie_

Zain held her closely until she had finished crying, he hated the thought of leaving her like this.

"I'm okay." She assured him as they relaxed their hold on each other.

"We're going to nail this bastard Sarah, I promise."

Sarah just nodded in response. Zain stroked her hair gently.

"Call me anything you need to." Zain insisted, her hovered awkwardly before turning to leave.

Sarah shut the door after him and went back to lay on the bed, feeling much better than she had before.

_You're in the arms of an angel_

_May you find some comfort there_

_You're in the arms of the angel_

_May you find some comfort here._


	15. Stars of CCTV

**You Needed Me  
Chapter 15: Stars of CCTV**

**I've decided that this fic is going to be 17 chapters (so 2 more lol) and then I have a sequel which I'm hoping will work. I can't tell you only details yet otherwise it might give away the ending of this story.  
Thanks to everybody who has reviewed and continues to review!  
Please review this chapter! Vikki xxx.

* * *

**

Zain was the first detective into work the next morning, which was a rare occurence. Today, however, he wanted to be there early. He needed to find more evidence to convinct Robbie Ward of the rape. He knew deep down that the man was guilty but it was proving it that was becoming such a problem. After seeing Sarah the night before he was determined to get the result that she needed to be able to move on with the rest of her life. Zain hated to see her like this, and it seemed unfair that Sarah's rape was the factor that had thrown them together. He wished they could have met under any other circumstance. It was ironic that the only woman he had been this strongly attracted to in a long while was the victim of a vicious sexual assault. He was going to do anything to give Sarah her life back. He knew that he couldn't expect to be part of her life but he could hope, couldn't he?

* * *

"You're in early." DS Sam Nixon commented as she and Phil entered the office half an hour later. The room was slowly coming to life with the detectives having their second coffee of the day before getting down to work.

Zain looked up and grunted in response before going back to work. Sam walked around to look at the papers he was studying.

"Are you still working on the Sarah Adams case?" She asked, Zain nodded in response. "Phil and I are quite happy to help you, aren't we babe?"

Sam placed her hand over her mouth and Zain looked from her to Phil and back again.

"Is there something going on here that I should know about?" He asked.

Sam and Phil both blushed a deeper shade of pink which gave Zain the answer he was looking for.

"Any help would be seriously appreciated."

Zain shared the stack of witness statements, forensic reports and FME documents between the three of them and they worked solidly for an hour. When Phil finished studying one of the statements, he stood up and stretched his neck.

"I'm going down to the canteen for a cuppa." He said. "I could do with stretching my legs."

"I'll join you." Sam replied. "What about you Zain, are you coming?"

Zain shook his head. "Too much to do. You two deserve a break though."

"You sure?" Phil asked.

"You really care about this case, don't you?" Sam added.

Zain looked up. "I'm going to nail this bastard, I don't care what it takes."

* * *

Sarah had just finished dressing when there was a knock on the door. One of the hostel workers, Lucy, came in.

"Hey Sarah, did you sleep okay?"

She forced a small smile. "Not too bad, thanks."

Lucy smiled back. "Good good. How are you feeling today?" She came further into the room and took a seat opposite where Sarah was perched on the end of the bed.

"Oh...y'know..." Sarah replied, she was feeling too bad today but she didn't want to talk about what was going on either. Lucy sensed this.

"That detective seems rather nice." She said, changing tact. "Not bad looking either." She laughed.

Sarah cracked a smile. "Yeah, he's been really good to me."

Lucy placed a hand on Sarah's arm as she stood up to leave the room.

"Anything you want, just call."

* * *

"I'm a bit worried about him." Sam confessed to Phil on their way down to the canteen.

"Zain? Yeah, he seems quite involved with this case." Phil agreed.

Sam smirked. "Call it female intuition but I think he likes her."

"He...wouldn't..." Phil replied, trying to get used to this idea. "No wonder he's been so passionate about this case from the beginning."

Sam smiled as they walked passed an empty interview room. She paused and Phil stopped to look at her.

"You know..." She mused. "I'm not sure I feel like a cup of tea anymore."

Phil smirked, following her into the empty room and locking the door after them.

* * *

When Sam and Phil finally returned from their 'tea break', Zain thought that he might have made a breakthrough.

"I think I've found the link." He said triumphantly. Sam and Phil shared a look.

"Go on." Sam said.

"I think it's the sister, Catriona Ward. It just doesn't make sense. Sarah barely ever visits this Pub but she remembers the barmaid clearly and positively identified Catriona as being this girl. But she is sticking the story that she was at home with Robbie during the time the rape was commited. She had finished work before the approximate time too but if we could find something more on the CCTV..."

He was cut off by PC's Harman and Casper as they burst into the CID office, Honey was waving a video tape in Zain's direction.

"We found this round the back of the Seven Bells pub, it had fallen down the back of one of the rubbish bins. We watched it and it shows the whole thing, the rape, everything." Dan said proudly as Honey passed the tape to Zain.

"Thank you." Zain grinned. "Good work." Now he had the task of watching this video, something he was not looking forward to in the slightest.


	16. Moment of Truth

**You Needed Me  
Chapter 16: Moment of Truth**

**Well, only one more chapter to go! It's already been written but your input is still valued and very important!  
Thanks to... Lornz, Emz, Sarah, Sekmet and Emma for reviewing:D  
Please review! Vikki xxx.

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**

Zain Nadir sat in one of interview rooms, it was late in the day and the room was bathed in twilight. A television was in front of him, the video cassette hanging out of the machine and the remote control clutched tightly in one hand. He had been putting off this task all day but knew that he couldn't hide from it forever. Sarah would want him to do this, wouldn't she? She wanted them to catch this man but this was taking things to extremes, wasn't it? It was just another cruel twist of fate but if they wanted to put this man away Zain knew that he was going to have to bite the bullet. Letting out a sigh, Zain reached forward and pushed the video tape the rest of the way it then pressed the play button on the remote. The video had been rewinded to the start so he fast forwarded until a few minutes before the time that Sarah had told them that she and her work colleagues had left the Seven Bells. His hand was still gripped tightly around the remote control as he watched the seconds tick away on the screen. Zain started to pay close attention as Sarah and a group of men and women exited the pub. Two taxis were already parked outside and the rest of the group piled in but Sarah waited. Another few minutes passed which seemed like hours to Zain and then he saw it. A man emerged from the shadow of the hedges beside the pub and approached Sarah. Her facial expression and her body language plainly showed that she was obviously scared of this man. Once again Zain's heart went out to her. No one deserved this, least of all Sarah.

There was no way he could watch this. He was too involved now. Zain fast forwarded through the rape but let the tape play as the man he could now positively identify as Robert Ward walked away. He watched for a few more minutes and then saw a petite woman with long blonde hair coming from the back entrance of the pub. She stopped beside Sarah and they engaged in conversation for a few minutes. Zain stopped the tape. He had all he needed to bring Sarah's rapist to justice.

* * *

He went to visit her at the women's refuge that evening, this time without food. Instead he was going to take Sarah out to celebrate. They were still quite a way from putting Ward behind bars but they were close enough for now. Zain couldn't wait to break the good news to Sarah. He knocked on the door to her room and she opened it, letting him in. 

"How are you today?" He asked.

Sarah shrugged. "I'm okay thanks. You didn't have to come round here again."

Zain couldn't suppress his smug grin any longer.

"Yes I did. We've got him. We've nailed him. Robert Ward is going down for a long time." He said proudly.

Sarah smiled too but her eyes were filling with tears at the same time. "How?" She asked.

"Two of ours PCs managed to find the missing CCTV tape so we know that Ward was lying about his alibi because we saw his sister talking to you."

"Did you see..." She paused, swallowing a lump in a throat. She began again. "Did you see the rape?"

Zain knew that he couldn't lie to her. He nodded gravely. "Yes, but it was only me who saw the tape."

Sarah turned away from him, she felt ashamed and dirty. She walked over to the window and looked outside. The refuge was on the outside of London and overlooked a small wooded area. The sky was streaked with golds, pinks and purples. Zain followed her.

"Sarah?"

She didn't turn around. She didn't want him to see that she was crying.

"You don't know how hard this is, do you?"

Although she wasn't looking at him Zain still should his head. "No, I don't." He paused. "But I do know how brave you're being out this whole thing."

Sarah wiped her tears away with the sleeve of her jumper. She laughed humourlessly.

"I don't feel like it. I feel like I'm being anything but brave."

Zain placed his hand on the small of her back. "It almost over now." He whispered and then they stood in silence. Both of them staring out of the window, lost in thought.

* * *

"Have you heard the good news?" Sam asked, approaching Phil's desk at mid-morning the next day. 

Phil looked up from the computer screen. "You want to go for another 'tea break'?" He asked, jokingly.

Sam cheeks coloured slightly. "No Phil, Zain's found the evidence he needed to convict Robbie Ward of raping Sarah Adams."

"That's great."

Sam nodded. "The court case starts again tomorrow."

* * *

The following day Sarah was back at her own house and was getting ready for the court hearing. She was much less nervous than she had been before. She had reason to be more confident but she didn't want to get ahead of herself. There was still a chance that Ward might not be prosecuted and Sarah knew that she had to be prepared for that. Zain was driving her to the courts again, she didn't think she could hold her nerves together to be able to drive herself there in one piece. 

She looked in the mirror and applied some natural make up to her face and brushed her auburn hair to it fell straight to her shoulders. Taking a few deep breaths she went through to the living room to wait for Zain to arrive.

The process was a lot smoother than it had been the first time and Sarah felt more confident when answering the questions. Rachel Casper, her brief, was supportive as always and was pleased the Sarah's rapist was finally getting what he deserved. At the recess Rachel approached Sarah.

"It's looking good so far, isn't it?" She said.

Sarah nodded, taking a sip from the plastic cup of coffee.

"I don't want you to get your hopes up..." Rachel continued. "But all the evidence seems to be pointing to Ward now."

Sarah smiled. She just hoped that her brief was right. A while later they all filed back into the courtroom and took their seats. Zain gave Sarah's hand a quick squeeze as they stood up as the Judge entered the room. They all sat down and waited for the Judge to deliever the verdict.

"In the case of the rape of Sarah Adams, the defendant, Robert Ward is found..." She paused, almost for effect and Sarah and Zain shared a look. What was she going to say?

**Reviewers go to heaven:D**


	17. Finale

**You Needed Me  
****Chapter 17: Finale**

**Thank you so much to everybody who has read and reviewed this story: Emma, Lornz, Bex, Stacey Ellen, Minion of Sekhmet, Sammie, Becca, IndieGothGirl, Becki, Ami, Kelly, Gabiace, Emz, Sarah, becca996 and Newsteadgirl! xxx  
****It means so much to me! A sequel is already in the works and I'm hoping you'll like it as much as this fic. It will be up and with you sometime soon!  
Please review just one last time! Love, Vikki x.  
Oh yeah, the song is 'You Needed Me' by Boyzone. Yes, I know:P**

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* * *

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I cried a tear

_You wiped it dry_

_I was confused_

_You cleared my mind_

_I sold me soul_

_You brought it back for me_

_And helped me up_

_And gave me dignity_

_Somehow you needed me_

Sarah's hands were clenched her lap, her shoulders were hunched together and she almost feel herself shaking as she prepared for the Judge to finally tell them the verdict. Zain stole a look across at her and just hoped for her sake that she could walk out of here today with the weight she had been carrying around finally lifted from her shoulders. If Robert Ward was found guilty it meant that whatever relationship had existed between them would be over. Zain woud be sad not to be able to see her everyday but he wanted Sarah to be able to move on with her life and leave these past weeks in the past where they belonged. Finally, after what seemed like an age to the entire courtroom, the Judge delievered her verdict.

"We find you, Robert Ward." She said, turning to face him. "We find you guilty of the intentional rape and sexual assault of Sarah Adams. You will serve a five year sentence in prison."

Sarah let out a deep sigh of relief. Finally this ordeal was over.

_You gave me strength_

_To stand alone again_

_To face the world_

_Out on my own again_

_You put me high_

_Upon a pedestal_

_So high that I could almost see eternity_

_You needed me_

_You needed me._

"Thank you so much for all you've done me. All of you. I mean it." Sarah said a few minutes later when she, Zain, Sam, Phil, Smithy and Rachel were all gathered outside the court. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"It's not a problem." Rachel said, breaking away from Smithy's embrace to hug her. Rachel wasn't just Sarah's brief she had become her friend too.

Maybe the only good thing that had come out of this ordeal was that she had met some really great people. Including Zain. They left the courtroom and Zain drove her home.

"I'm so pleased that today worked out how it did." He told her.

"Me too." She laughed. It had been one hell of a day and she was glad that it was coming to a close.

He dropped her off and her house and walked her to the front door.

"So..." Zain began as Sarah unlocked the door to her house and went inside.

"Do you want to come in?" She asked. The least she could do was invite him in for a drink after all he had done for.

He smiled. "Yeah sure. I'd like that."

_And I can't believe it's you_

_I can't believe it's true_

_I needed you_

_And you were there_

_And I'll never leave, why should I leave?_

_I'd be a fool_

_I finally found someone who really cares._

"What can I get you?" Sarah asked, going into the kitchen and opening the fridge. There was an opened bottle of red wine and a few cans of beer. Zain followed her into the kitchen.

"I don't mind." He replied. "Whatever you're having."

Sarah pulled out two cans of beer and handed one to Zain. They cracked them open and took a sip. They stood in silence for a while. Neither of them knew quite what to say. Officially their professional relationship was over but what about their personal one?

"Sarah?" Zain asked, putting his can down on one of the kitchen surfaces.

She followed suit and looked up at him, waiting for him to continue. He wasn't quite sure what he had been going to say so instead he took her face in his hands and kissed her softly. He knew that she would probably reject him again and he didn't mind, he understood. But this time she didn't. She grazed his lips with her own before making the kiss more passionate. She didn't even hesitate or back away. Third time lucky.

A few minutes later they broke apart, Sarah brushed some of her hair out of her face. Zain grinned at her.

"You're really special you know." He said. "I just wish I could have met you under different circumstances."

"I know, me too. But it's better than never having me you at all." Sarah laughed, cringing at what she had said.

Zain smiled, moving in for another kiss when his mobile rang. He cursed and went to answer it.

"I've got to go, it's work." He apologised. "But I'll take you to dinner tomorrow night."

_You held my hand_

_When it was cold_

_When I was lost  
You took me home_

_You gave me love_

_When I was at the end_

_And turned my life back into truth again_

_You even called me 'friend'._

For three months they dated, getting to know each other better over dinners, drinks at the pub and walks in the park. The more time they spent together the more they got to know each other. Sarah felt comfortable in Zain's presence, he was totally different to her ex boyfriend Mark and that was a good thing. He was patient with her, after all that had happened it was hard for her to open up to people and he understood that. Zain hadn't been in a serious relationship for a while either and being together was good for them.

They had been for dinner at the new Italian restaurant in Canley and Zain had offered to drop her home. He had something important to tell her so he asked if it was okay for him to come in.

Sarah filled the kettle with water to make the coffee and Zain waited impatiently in the living room, he didn't want to lose his nerve. She finally came back into the room. He took her in his arms.

"There's something I want to tell you." Her green eyes met his darker ones. She nodded. "Sarah, I know we haven't been together for long but I, I love you."

Her eyes became cloudy with tears but she blinked them back. "I love you too."

Zain pressed his lips against hers, pulling her into a long and passionate kiss. He moved away and took her hand, she misinterpreted the gesture.

"Zain...I...I'm sorry but I can't...I'm not ready yet...I'm sorry." She hated having to do this to him.

He wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, it's okay. Take as much time as you need."

"Thank you." She said, pressing her head against his shoulder. "I do love you."

"I know." He said, rubbing her back.

She might not be ready to take their relationship to the next level yet but when she did, he was the one she wanted to be with.

_You gave me strength_

_To stand alone again_

_To face the world_

_Out on my own again_

_You put me high_

_Upon a pedestal_

_So high that I could almost see eternity_

_You needed me_

_You needed me._

_You needed me_

_You needed me  
Oh, yes, you needed me_

_You needed me._


End file.
